The context in which the present invention arose is that of sales presentation, particularly by means of talking displays. Rather than having prospective customers always confronted by salespersons, a customer entering a place of business has the option instead, if he is interested, of pushing a small button to activate an eight-track tape player serving as the vocal part of a sales display and presentation. With the circuit of the present invention incorporated into the player, the latter automatically shuts itself off rather than repeating its program until manually stopped. That is to say, the tape player is shut down automatically at the end of a single track rather than at the end of all tracks. Then if the customer is still interested in whatever product or service is being promoted he can seek out a salesperson; if not, he can simply leave.
Devices and circuits which accomplish the foregoing are not, of course, in and of themselves new. But all of the present ones, so far as known, are relatively complicated, expensive or unreliable or a combination of several or all of these demerits. The chief object and feature of the present invention, accordingly, is a circuit which automatically shuts suts down an eight-track tape player or the like after a single complete program has been played and yet is simple and very inexpensive as well as reliable.